High unemployment rates and poor living conditions are driving some Palestinians to seek relief by illegally crossing into Israel.

The Israeli army announced Sept. 14 that it had arrested five Palestinians who had breached the border fence east of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip. On Sept. 20, a security source in Gaza said, on condition of anonymity, that 45 young men had tried to infiltrate Israel from the Gaza Strip just since the beginning of this month.

Those numbers shed light on the phenomenon of young Palestinians risking detention or even death to seek job opportunities in Israel. The eight-year blockade of Gaza has created an incredible unemployment rate there. The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics said the rate reached 44% in April.

On Sept. 16, Al-Monitor visited the eastern border of the Gaza Strip where Palestinian infiltration areas are concentrated, specifically in Kissufim, al-Ayn al-Thalitha, Wadi al-Bashor and the dirt road called Jakar Street, which was created in May by Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas.